North Texas Hosts Denver In Valentine's Day ShowdownDENTON, Tex. (2/14/08) ? The North Texas women's basketball team plays host to the Denver Pioneers on a Valentine's Day battle at the Super Pit tonight. The Mean Green fell to UALR on Saturday but at home North Texas has won four of its past five gam

DENTON, Tex. (2/14/08) The North Texas women’s basketball team plays host to the Denver Pioneers on a Valentine’s Day battle at the Super Pit tonight.

The Mean Green fell to UALR on Saturday but at home North Texas has won four of its past five games. The Mean Green is locked in a four-team battle for position to host a first-round tournament game. Denver comes to Denton having won two straight games after beating Louisiana-Lafayette 60-52 on Sunday.

North Texas pounded Denver earlier in the year on the road, 72-56. In that game Jo Hall scored a career-high 25 points.

Guard Yari Escalera hit a career-high five 3-pointers against UALR and tied her career-high with 15 points. Escalera’s five 3-pointers are the most in a game for North Texas since January 11, 2007. She has upped her total for the year to 21 needs only 11 more to crack the top 10 for 3-pointers in a single season.

Meanwhile teammate Brittney James is just three away from joining the top 10 for 3-pointers in a single season as she sits with 29 on the year.

The combination of Amber Jackson, Brittney James, Jo Hall, and Erica Howard are all ranked in the top 30 in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring. The Mean Green is the only team in the league that has four players in the top 30 in the SBC in scoring for the season.

Earlier in the season the Mean Green relied upon its bench to carry a bulk of the load, but that trend has reversed in conference play. In non-conference play the Mean Green’s starting five averaged 44 points while the bench chipped in for 20 points a game. In league play the Mean Green’s starting five is averaging 55 points a game while the bench is scoring 11 points a contest.